Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his side’s 4-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt as the ideal tune-up for next week’s mouth-watering Champions League last-16 showdown with title rivals Bayern Munich.

Leverkusen scored three goals in the space of seven first-half minutes on Saturday.

Nathan Tella’s opener was followed up by efforts from Nordi Mukiele and Patrik Schick.

Hugo Ekitike pulled one back for third-place Eintracht, but Aleix Garcia put the game to bed midway through the second half.

Bayern beat Stuttgart on Friday, meaning nine points separate the title rivals at the summit of the Bundesliga ahead of the pair going head-to-head for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

“I’m very happy, very proud,” Alonso told reporters.

“From the start, we showed we were fully focused, in every action, both with and without the ball.

“A complete performance with a great scoreline. The perfect preparation for Wednesday night in the Champions League.

He knows how to win away. ‍#SGEB04 pic.twitter.com/kMtj6kRlMm

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) March 2, 2025

“I am very pleased, especially with the way we played – at a high tempo and with good control of the ball in the first 35 minutes – against a direct rival like Eintracht. It is always difficult to play against them.

“We are ready for the next challenge – in Munich, against the best team in Germany. We will see. We are in a good moment, and we will give it our all,” he said.

“Are we favourites? We are not foolish. We are playing against Bayern. We have to show them a lot of respect.”

Under Alonso, Leverkusen are unbeaten in their six matches against Bayern across all competitions (W3 D3).

They have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four against Bayern, after not keeping any in their previous 15 games against them beforehand (42 goals conceded in those 15 matches).

Wednesday’s clash will be the first ever meeting between Bayern and Leverkusen in a major European competition.